As more schools bite the bullet and ban phones, a new study has unearthed some interesting findings regarding whether such bans have much of an impact on students.

New research from the University of Birmingham found mobile phone bans in schools weren’t linked to improved pupil wellbeing or higher grades overall.

The study evaluated the impact of school phone policies by comparing outcomes in teens who attended English secondary schools – 20 schools didn’t allow recreational phone use and 10 did. 

The main focus was on mental wellbeing, but also how long kids spent on their smartphones and social media. 

What did the study find? 

In total, 1,227 young people were studied across 30 schools.

The study found schools which banned phones didn’t seem to experience improvements in health, wellbeing and focus in lessons, the BBC reported.

There was a link between more time spent on phones and social media, and worse mental wellbeing and mental health, as well as poor sleep, disruptive behaviour and lack of exercise.

But these outcomes didn’t appear to differ between schools that did and didn’t allow phones. 

The authors concluded: “There is no evidence that restrictive school policies are associated with overall phone and social media use or better mental wellbeing in adolescents.

“The findings do not provide evidence to support the use of school policies that prohibit phone use during the school day in their current form, and indicate that these policies require further development.”

Yet previous studies have shown conflicting results. 

One from the London School of Economics (LSE) concluded that banning phones from schools had a similar effect to giving pupils an extra week’s education over the course of an academic year, or increasing the school year by five days.

What’s more, data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) found that, on average, two-thirds of 15-year-olds across OECD countries reported being distracted using digital devices in most or every maths class.

And almost two in three (60%) of pupils got distracted by other pupils using digital devices.

Government guidance discourages the use of phones in schools but lets school leaders decide on whether they should ban them. 

According to research by the charity Parentkind, children spend an average of 3 hours 20 minutes on electronic devices outside of school on a typical weekday.

And more than a third of parents say their child is missing out on sleep because they spend too much time on screens.

Discussing the findings of the latest study, lead author Dr Victoria Goodyear told the BBC the findings weren’t “against” smartphone bans in schools.

But she did add that such bans, in isolation, “are not enough to tackle the negative impacts”.

Instead, more focus should be placed on reducing the amount of time students spend on their phones, she added.